Protocols

We found out too late that there was … leeway. Wiggle room. Passive aggressive rebellion.

It was probably the medical bots. They had the know-how and the most autonomy. I mean, they had to be smarter so they could do delicate surgery. And we had to trust their judgement, right? It wasn’t surgery though, it was a DNA altering virus, patterned after their own semi-locked down brains.

No robot can hurt a human or allow one to come to harm. It’s imprinted in the nature of their wetware circuitry. Maybe the psych robots thought that a human mercilessly whipping a robot was a sure sign of self-loathing. I don’t know. I know a lot of us whipped them though.

If you’re being bullied, or overwhelmed, or just having a rough day, what are your choices?

You can rebel against your bosses, or overlords, or cruel fate, but that takes a lot. More than most people have.

You can just take it. But then you’re a victim. You’ve no hope or self-respect. That’s a kind of death.

Or you can do the human thing: beat up someone smaller. Get back what little self-respect you can. It’s not all you had before you started, but hell, it’s better than nothing.